What the elders know

By JOAN RYAN
San Francisco ChroniclePublished:February 4, 2003 7:00PM

I passed the "Bingo Tonite 7:15" placard in the lobby and walked to the dining room, where workers at the Redwoods Retirement Center in Mill Valley were clearing away dishes from breakfast. "Ruth! Ruth!" a food-service worker called to a woman heading out behind an aluminum walker. "Your pills, sweetie, your pills!" I poured a cup of decaf and waited for.